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🇳🇱 Netherlands /Conflict & Security

Serbs take selfies at Mladic’s grave: “He is the father of Republika Srpska”

From NRC Handelsblad · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Tens of thousands of mourners from Serbia, Republika Srpska and the diaspora attended Ratko Mladic’s funeral and burial in Belgrade.
  • Supporters displayed his image, sold merchandise and called him a protector and father of Republika Srpska, while the article presents the opposing view of Mladic as a war criminal.
  • Large crowds filled the area around the Sveti Luka church, leaving many people unable to enter for the memorial service.

A sleeping Serbian patriot rests in the back seat of a parked car while a friend says he managed to say goodbye to Ratko Mladic early in the morning. Outside him, a line stretching for roughly a kilometer holds thousands of people waiting to pay their respects to the Bosnian Serb general.

Hey! Hello? Just because you are saints does not mean you can cut in line.

· Young man in the queueHe challenged people who appeared to be trying to move ahead of others waiting outside the church.

The scene unfolded on Monday in Belgrade, where tens of thousands of people from Serbia, Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the wider diaspora gathered for Mladic’s funeral service and burial. The entrance to the Sveti Luka Serbian Orthodox church was heavily secured. Supporters passed through security gates to view the closed coffin, while crowds argued over their place in the slow-moving line.

Mladic’s supporters treated the funeral as a celebration of a national figure. Merchandise bearing his face was sold in the streets beside the church. One shirt showed his portrait on the front and a street sign reading “Serbian Sarajevo” on the back. Serbian veterans carried large Serbian flags, including one embroidered with Mladic’s face.

Give me two.

· Unidentified manHe was buying merchandise featuring Mladic near the church.

Zoran Kosanic, 59, who heads Belgrade’s war veterans, said the flag had been made when Mladic was handed over to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Nedjo Budin, 68, a veteran from Republika Srpska, said Mladic’s death on 27 August 2026 should be marked every year like a religious holiday. “He is the father of Republika Srpska,” Budin said before breaking down in tears.

We made those when he was handed over to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

· Zoran KosanicThe head of Belgrade’s war veterans explained when the flags bearing Mladic’s image were made.

Mladic died aged 84 in the prison hospital in Scheveningen. His body was flown back on Thursday, and Belgrade honored his return with, among other tributes, a huge new mural of his face. Part of Serbia and much of Republika Srpska credit him with protecting the entity during the Yugoslav wars. The article also sets that admiration against his status as a war criminal and the conflict’s toll, noting that more than 200,000 civilians and soldiers died. Of 161 people indicted from across the region, 93 were ultimately convicted.

He is the father of Republika Srpska.

· Nedjo BudinThe veteran from Republika Srpska described Mladic’s place in the eyes of his supporters.
About this summary

Originally published by NRC Handelsblad in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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